Well, that didnt take long. You had to figure it would just be a matter of time before Team Romney alleged anti-Mormon bias by its opponents or the press, and bingo, today we had two separate instances of the charge being raised...

...on Mike Allens Playbook this morning, suggesting...Obama campaigns argument that Romney has a penchant for secrecy has a hidden anti-Mormon message.

WHAT REPUBLICANS ARE SAYING about the penchant for secrecy attack line against Romney: These are exactly the kind of questions we asked about Obama in 2008 and were accused of race baiting, or suggesting he was somehow un-American. Now they ask it: Whats his secret? It does seem like they are going after the Mormonism, right? Id do the same thing if I was them. But we were never up on our high horse about better angels and hope and change and all that B.S..

From an LDS member: [T]his is a way to talk about Romneys Mormonism without appearing to be attacking his religion Because, isnt Mormonism some mysterious cult involving secret temple rites and strange undergarments?..."

David Axelrod, Obamas top strategist, said in a statement to Playbook: Refusing to release income tax returns and the names of your fundraising bundlers, removing the hard drives from your state computers when you left the governorship, refusing to offer details of your plansthese have noting to do with religion. George Romney was a leader on disclosure when he ran for President, releasing 12 years of returns. This is issue is about Mitt Romney, not his faith.

No, it is not inconceivable that some voter out there hearing about the secrecy-minded Romney will think of his secrecy-minded religion (and it is secrecy-minded: Ann Romneys own parents were barred from attending the Mormon service for her wedding.)

From the column: From an LDS member: [T]his is a way to talk about Romneys Mormonism without appearing to be attacking his religion. Because, isnt Mormonism some mysterious cult involving secret temple rites and strange undergarments?"...it is not inconceivable that some voter out there hearing about the secrecy-minded Romney will think of his secrecy-minded religion (and it is secrecy-minded: Ann Romneys own parents were barred from attending the Mormon service for her wedding.)

Touchy, touchy, touchy!!!

Why don't Mormons want to own their secretive components? I mean, isn't the Mormon church and Mitt Romney both indeed quite secretive???

What is one of the criteria of a cult?

EVERY COERCIVE religious group harbors one telltale trait: UNTOWARD SECRECY.

Of course, when you have these kind of bizarre beliefs as posted in the previous post, mum's the word. Secret, secret, secret Fulness of the gospel NOT in the Book of Mormon. Secret to prospects - they'd look in vain for the primary Mormon teachings to be taught there. Original "old plates" Joseph supposedly found. Secreted away. The founder, Joseph not telling wife Emma about women he had affairs with (Fanny & others) 1831 & beyond. Secret. Mormons not putting the polygamy doctrine in writing until the 1850s. Secret. Bloody victims' clothes & orphans from Mountain Meadows Massacre, 1857. Secret for two years. Mountain Meadows Massacre culprits. Conspired amongst each other to never tell. Secret. Mormonism openly false 19th century teachings like Adam-is-god and blood atonement. Unacknowledged as former teachings. They wish these were a secret. Mormon polygamists hiding out from the feds in 1880s. Secret hideaways. Lds Plural marriages 1890-1910. Secret.

Still today: Lds temple ceremonies. Secret. Lds weddings in temples. Secret. Secret underwear power. Very secret. Mormons believe thousands of deceased Mormons practicing polygamy in another realm. "Open" Secret. History not "faith promoting" to Lds church and former leaders. Tendency to tuck away. Secreted away. fLDS families -- the "living daguerreotype" of what 19th century Mainstream Mormon families were often like -- tucked away in out-of-the-way communities. Treated like the crazy aunt to lock away in the basement closet.

No wonder a BYU history prof wrote a book, "Early Mormonism and the Magic World View." "Magic" is a sub-category of the occult. And what does the word "occult" mean? (Yup, Latin for "hidden" -- as in secret).

The author of the above article notes: In all the extensive media coverage of Mitt Romney, much of it discussing his religion, not a word have I seen about the secrets of Mormonism, the secrets of Romney's life-long beliefs and practices. The reason, of course, is obvious: nobody can talk about a secret unless they are in on the secret. And few journalists or Christian ministers or anti-Mitt politicians are in on the secret. Only Mormons know the secrets, and they're not going to tell. And former Mormons, like myself, who were initiated into those same secrets, and afterwards left Mormonism - we know the secrets. Should we tell? ... And why does Romney (and his church) want to keep people from knowing those secrets? Most Mormons will claim that they are not "secret," but merely so "sacred" that they cannot be discussed. That is a quibble, since Mormons hold any number of other aspects of their religion to be "sacred," and yet they don't hesitate to discuss them (for example: baptism, conferring the gift of the Holy Ghost, ordination to the priesthood, etc.). In my day, when Mitt and I were initiated into the secrets, we were specifically instructed that we were under "the greatest obligations of secrecy." Nowadays, the Mormons simply take a solemn oath that they will "never reveal" anything about the rituals. That sounds like a secret to any ordinary person, doesn't it? All right. I am going reveal those secrets, since nobody else seems willing and able to do so.

Sadly, I see a lot of anti-mormanism comments directed at Mittens, too.

People should be honest. If they don't like his policies, then that is fair, but the bigotry against his religion is over the top.

I would rather have a Mormon than a Muslim or Atheist or Critical Race Theorist or Black Liberation Theologiest or whatever the heck the confused clown in the Whitehouse is.

Romney wasn't my first, second, third or fourth pick, and I am still hoping Newt pulls out a miracle, but come November, I will vote against Obama, even if I am voting for a man who is in the Mormon religion.

I am a Christian, and I am not afraid of Mormons defeating Christianity.

So what if we have someone who is Mormon as president? There are a lot of things I don’t like about that religion, but when it comes to low crime and treating people well, Salt Lake City is one of the best places in the country. They must be doing a little something right.

We survived a Catholic President, Progressives, Marxists and hopefully this confused creep we have now. We can survive having a Mormon. Christ will definitely survive and maybe, Mittens and some other Mormons will convert to our beliefs if we are a little nicer and Christ like?

I am a Christian, and I am not afraid of Mormons defeating Christianity. So what if we have someone who is Mormon as president? There are a lot of things I dont like about that religion, but when it comes to low crime and treating people well, Salt Lake City is one of the best places in the country. They must be doing a little something right.

Not very honest, no one has said that they think that Mormonism will defeat Christianity.

You are fighting on behalf of Mormonism and promoting pro-Mormon materials while taking a position, and speaking out against, Christians that are exposing the anti-Christian cult.

You are calling Christians "insane" for taking the Christian position of speaking out in defense of Christianity against Mormonism. You are taking a side and promoting your own agenda which fits with Mormonism and it's goals, so are the Christians taking a side, they are not "insane", or wrong.

8
posted on 04/19/2012 12:44:51 PM PDT
by ansel12
( Romney is a Mormon Bishop, as was his father, his uncle was in line to be the Mormon Prophet/Pope)

If you belong to a Christian church, then you should know that your church officially tells us that Mormonism is not a Christian religion, depending on which church you belong to, it might openly label Mormonism as a Cult, as the Orthodox do.

13
posted on 04/19/2012 1:56:44 PM PDT
by ansel12
( Romney is a Mormon Bishop, as was his father, his uncle was in line to be the Mormon Prophet/Pope)

It’s hard to get worked up about Mormons when it’s Catholics who slaughtered Protestants by the millions and burned thousands at the stake. Epithets like the Purple Whore of Rome (aka the Pope) may have come about as a result of the rivers of blood spilled by the Catholic Church and its armies of enforcers of religious orthodoxy.

14
posted on 04/19/2012 2:19:20 PM PDT
by Zhang Fei
(Let us pray that peace be now restored to the world and that God will preserve it always.)

Here’s what I don’t get - Marxist economics is the semi-official dogma of the Catholic church (with routine Papal homilies on the virtues of socialism and socialist health care), but the devoutly capitalist Mormons are heretics?

15
posted on 04/19/2012 2:24:29 PM PDT
by Zhang Fei
(Let us pray that peace be now restored to the world and that God will preserve it always.)

Somehow that old European history doesn’t seem very relevant in this year of 2012 in the United States, to Americans, and surely not on this thread.

Bishop Romney having become leader of the GOP, hence conservatism, hence the Christian right, now that does stir up some discussions of Mormonism as it relates to Christianity and in regards to this presidential election, that is something that all Christians, Protestant and Catholic can agree on.

16
posted on 04/19/2012 2:58:01 PM PDT
by ansel12
( Romney is a Mormon Bishop, as was his father, his uncle was in line to be the Mormon Prophet/Pope)

Heres what I dont get...the devoutly capitalist Mormons are heretics?

Well...2 comments...

This is what happens when a person's wallet governs their worldview or evaluation of religious worldview (like apparently yours does...

Heres what I dont get - Marxist economics is the semi-official dogma of the Catholic church (with routine Papal homilies on the virtues of socialism and socialist health care), but the devoutly capitalist Mormons are heretics?

Secondly, since your last comment dove into history...if you want to delve into 19th century Mormon economic theory based upon the "Revelations" of the Mormon god...the Lds were communists in the 1880s...(called The United Order)

Here's the info -- where even a Mormon author references it as "communism" -- and greatly fueled Soviet communism:

Joseph Smith first had the "everlasting United Order" "revelations" in D&C 82:18-20 and 104:1, 48, 53

Even George Givens, a Mormon author, described Brigham Youngs communist-built community of Orderville, Utah as pure communism: "When Brigham Young established Orderville and similar United Orders, John Taylor was less than enthusiastic. He realized that enterprises such as Orderville were pure communism and not the law of consecration. He made this plain after he became President, when in 1882 he sent an epistle to all authorities of the Church in which he bluntly stated: 'We had no example of the 'United Order' in accordance with the word of God on the subject...Our relations with the world and our own imperfections prevent the establishment of this system [i.e. the system of consecration and stewardship spoken of at times as the 'United Order'] at the present time, as was stated by Joseph in an early day, it cannot yet be carried out.'" (George W. Givens, 500 More Little-Known Facts in Mormon History, 2004, p. 169)

The truly unfortunate thing for world history is that John Taylor didnt go far enough, for while he dismantled Orderville, he left another United Order community (Brigham City, Utah) alone.

Here is Givens again (a faithful Mormon author):

"One of the most famous utopian books ever written was Looking Backward by Edward Bellamy, published in 1889. Some scholars believe Looking Backward had considerable influence in the making of Lenin's Soviet Russia. If this is true, then [ensuing Lds "prophet"] Lorenzo Snow and the Latter-day Saints must receive some of the credit--or blame. Hearing of the success of the United Order in Brigham City, Edward Bellamy made a special trip to Utah in 1886 to study its operation. There he spent three days with Lorenzo Snow, Brigham City's founder and forty-year resident. Impressed with the thirty to forty industries run by its 2,000 inhabitants and the vitality at that time of one of the most successful United Orders, Bellamy returned home and wrote his influential book." (500 More Little-Known Facts in Mormon History, p. 185).

Way to go, 19th century Mormon leader-prophets of Joseph Smith, Brigham Young, John Taylor & Lorenzo Snow!!! They all unwittingly fueled Soviet Communism!

It was Smiths original idea of a United Order, with Lds prophet Snow being the founder & long-term dictator of Brigham City, which in turn, influenced Bellamy, who in turn influenced Lenin!!! and while Taylor didnt like the orders, he only did a half-mast job of taking apart Orderville, leaving Brigham City untouched.

18
posted on 04/19/2012 6:07:09 PM PDT
by Colofornian
(Mom when I grow up, I want 2B like Ike. Mom when I grow up, I want 2B a god from Kolob like Mitt.)

From the Thirty Years' War. And things like the St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre. We've papered over these differences in the interest of letting bygones be bygones, but reality is that the Catholic Church is relatively tolerant today only because it was fought to a standstill by an alliance of Protestant kings.

19
posted on 04/19/2012 8:21:39 PM PDT
by Zhang Fei
(Let us pray that peace be now restored to the world and that God will preserve it always.)

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